Not All Hartford Neighborhood Schools Are Failing

I have read with interest over the past several months the articles in The Courant about Hartford schools [courant.com, March 12, "Left Behind: 20 Years After Sheff v. O’Neill, Students Struggle In Hartford's Segregated Neighborhood Schools"]. The articles give the impression that Hartford neighborhood schools are substandard or failing.

I have visited two of these schools over the past two months and found them to be vibrant learning communities with spacious, bright, renovated physical plants; the reality at these schools is quite different from the impression given by The Courant's articles.

I am a docent at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. I participate in a program called Museum on the Move, a visual arts-based outreach program co-created between the museum and the Hartford Public Schools in 2010. This program uses works from the museum's collection to promote state and national standards in language and visual arts, specifically fourth-grade students' writing skills. During a four-week period, students participate in classroom and art room activities, a docent-facilitated classroom visit and a docent-guided museum visit.

When we arrived at the Sarah J. Rawson School at 260 Holcomb St. and the M.D. Fox Elementary School at 470 Maple Ave., we found renovated, bright, spacious, clean buildings. The welcome in the main office was warm. At M.D. Fox, we were greeted personally by the principal. Student art covered every bulletin board in the hallways. The classrooms were inviting and equipped with up-to-date learning tools like smart boards. Students traveling through the hallways greeted us enthusiastically.

The physical plant and classroom atmosphere at these schools give the clear impression that they are positive and effective learning environments. Let's give the Hartford neighborhood schools that are doing a good job the credit they deserve.